Starry Eyed
by makeitmine
Summary: Rachel's secrets begin to come out when her younger brother transfers to McKinley. While Kurt is mad about not knowing the truth, he can't help but fall in love.  Anderberry AU
1. Chapter 1

_I started on part 2 of Love's In Our Hearts, but my brain decided it wanted nothing to do with that at the moment and ended up stuck on the Anderberry meme. I posted the first half of this on my Tumblr (organichipster if you're interested) last night and received a lot of positive feedback, so I continued. Obviously, this is majorly AU._

_Background: Rachel and her fathers came to Lima before her sophomore year of high school and what would have been Blaine's freshman year, but he instead went to Dalton. Shelby will not be working at McKinley, but may show up in the future. The rating may go up to M in the future when I start working on Blaine's backstory/why the Berrys moved._

_The song Blaine sings, and the title, is the acoustic version of Starry Eyed by Ellie Goulding. Dear Darren, please sing this. OK?_

_Disclaimer: not mine. Not Kurt, not Blaine, not Chris, not Darren._

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><p>Kurt Hummel's plan to make his senior year magical had already hit several snags two weeks into the semester. The first was when he and Rachel were informed their plans for Juilliard had zero chance of happening. Then the entire glee club was slushied by the hockey team. Then came the NYADA mixer and Harmony and a frightening amount of talent he wasn't even sure he could compete with. And of course there was Coach Sylvester and her futile attempts to destroy New Directions, this time using Santana, Becky, and unknowingly, Quinn, to do her dirty work. Now the glee club was down to just nine of the thirteen people who went to Nationals. The purple pianos hadn't attracted any new singers to the group, but as always, Mr. Schuester and Rachel weren't worried about the lack of members and focused on strengthening everyone else to make up for the lost voices.<p>

Truth be told, even if NYADA rejected him, Kurt was going to New York no matter what. The trip in May confirmed his need to spend his life in the city. Lima was a small-minded town that would hold him back from everything just because the majority did not agree with his sexuality. He didn't think he could take any more than another year of the glares and snickering that followed him everywhere. He was lucky that the rest of the glee club had supported him when he came out, but it was still a difficult process. He kept Dave's secret to himself, slowly forgiving him for the bullying that made his junior year pure hell. Even over the summer when Santana came to him for advice on her feelings for Brittany, she made him swear not to tell another person or risk losing his entire wardrobe. With two closeted people at McKinley (which was reduced after the Karofskys moved to Toledo), Kurt understood how being gay in a small town was going to be a problem no matter how many more rights were granted to same-sex couples. The only homosexual adults he knew were Rachel's fathers, and he admired how they took the hostility in stride and were still role models for their daughter, despite others' insistence they could not be.

Kurt was standing at his locker Monday morning getting his French and Government books out when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Expecting it to be Mercedes, he turned around to ask about her weekend, but was startled at who he found instead. It was a boy he had never seen around school before. Kurt would have remembered seeing him around before because he was, simply put, beyond handsome. He was slightly shorter than Kurt, but from the look of his upper arms, looked toned but not overly muscular. His hair was tamed with a massive amount of gel, but in a few places it curled out at the ends. His wardrobe was quite different from the rest of the male students: a black polo, red and gray striped tie, cropped red pants with a braided white belt, and black shoes. Kurt knew after his failed crushes on Finn and Sam that he shouldn't get his hopes up, but there was something about this boy that had already made him enamored with him.

Then the boy opened his mouth. "Hi," he said, and Kurt was even in love with this stranger's speaking voice. "This is my first day here and I forgot my map at home. Can you tell me where room 149 is?"

When Kurt tried to answer, he found his mouth was unable to work properly. He then nodded. "Yeah, i…it's around the corner at the end of the next hallway. It's on the way to my French class, so I can walk there with you."

"Thanks," the boy answered with a smile. "I meant to ask my sister, but she mentioned something about her boyfriend needing some homework help so she came early without me. I'm Blaine, by the way."

"Well hello, Blaine, I'm Kurt," he said offering his hand. Something flickered in Blaine's eyes, but Kurt chalked it up to his friendliness. They walked down towards their classrooms, talking the entire way. He found out Blaine was a junior who had just transferred from Dalton Academy because it was time for a change. He loved football, much to Kurt's chagrin, but also had a deep affection for the arts, especially singing. When Kurt brought up the glee club, Blaine mentioned he had already heard great things about the group and would probably audition at some point. Before they knew it, they reached the room Blaine's precalculus class was held in.

"It's been very nice to meet you, Kurt. Hopefully I'll see you around later on, if not when I come check out the glee club," Blaine said.

Kurt nodded. "Likewise. Take care." Blaine waved to him before disappearing into the classroom.

The day flew by, and before Kurt knew it, the final bell rang. He went to his locker to grab the books he needed to take home that evening before heading to the choir room. He wasn't anticipating Blaine to show up that afternoon, but walking in, Kurt saw the boy standing up front with Mr. Schuester and Rachel. With a warm smile towards Blaine, Kurt took a seat next to Tina and began discussing plans for the physics project they were doing together. It wasn't long before Mr. Schuester got everyone's attention to begin.

"Okay guys, before we talk about this week's assignment, I would like to introduce you to our newest member…Blaine Berry."

The other members of New Directions, save for Finn who was clapping, sat in stunned silence. Rachel had never made mention of having a brother, not even to her closest friends. Kurt looked at Mercedes, who began shaking her head. If Blaine had even half the talent Rachel did, the chances of them getting solos had dropped from slim to never.

Brittany was the one who finally broke the silence. "Did Mr. Schue have another son? Is Jesse hiding around here?"

Rachel chuckled. "No, Blaine's my younger brother. When we moved to Lima, he won a scholarship to Dalton Academy and decided to attend there instead."

"And it was amazing there," Blaine continued. "I was in the Warblers, their acapella group, and almost beat Vocal Adrenaline at regionals last year. Too bad I wasn't involved the year before…" he trailed off.

"You don't need her, Blaine. You're much better off not knowing her," Rachel whispered, placing a hand on Blaine's back to comfort him.

Mr. Schuester interrupted the moment. "Blaine, I can tell you Ms. Corcoran is a wonderful woman who would be proud of you. But for now, why don't you show us a bit of what you did out at Dalton? I've heard some impressive things about the Warblers."

"Thank you, Mr. Schuester," Blaine said. He smiled at Rachel, who took a seat next to her boyfriend to give her brother support for his audition. "Um, I know you guys are probably expecting an acapella number, but it wouldn't be right without the rest of the guys here. But would you mind if I played something instead?" he asked, nodding towards the piano.

"Not at all, go ahead," Mr. Schuester said. Blaine smiled and sat down in front of the keys to begin playing. His fingers danced across the ivory as he started a few vocal runs. Kurt was impressed already. Then Blaine began singing…

_Handle bars, and then I let go, let go for anyone_

_Take me in, and throw out my heart and get a new one_

_Next thing, we're touching_

_You look at me, it's like you hit me with lightning, ahhh_

_Oh, everybody's starry-eyed_

_And everybody goes_

_Oh, everybody's starry-eyed_

_And my body goes_

_Whoa oh oh ah ah_

_Whoa oh oh ah ah_

_Whoa oh oh_

Kurt was mesmerized by Blaine's voice. It was powerful, yet soothing. He had the same amount of talent as Rachel, but instead of the theatrics she thrived upon in her performances, Blaine chose to present it in an understated way. What Kurt didn't notice was that every time Blaine looked up from the keys towards his audience, his eyes always landed on the same person.

As Blaine played the final notes of the song, the class gave him a standing ovation. "I'd do this twice if I could," Artie joked while joining everyone in the applause.

"Blaine," Mr. Schuester said, "I think I speak for everyone when I say welcome to New Directions."


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you so much, everyone! I have received so many alerts on this and Love's In Our Hearts in the past week. I had a lot of this done before, but the Kurt/Santana scene came this morning and yeah...I think I'm adding some Brittana in. Which is fine by me. Enjoy!_

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><p>Kurt was lying on his bed trying to comprehend Beowulf. The first few chapters he had read over the weekend were tough, but his brain was not into it today. How could it be when it kept going back to Blaine's smile from that morning, followed by the hug Rachel gave him after his audition? Why would Rachel have kept Blaine's existence a secret from everyone? He was definitely intelligent if he was taking precalculus and two AP classes, he styled himself with classic elegance, and had an unbelievable talent when it came to his performance. Kurt had been staring at the same page in his book when his door opened. "You aren't mad at her, are you?" he heard his stepbrother ask.<p>

"No, Finn. Why would I be mad that my best friend-slash-bitter rival-slash-possibly future sister-in-law failed to disclose the secret sibling hidden away at boarding school?"

Finn walked in, closing the door behind him. "Blaine wasn't being hidden away. He's actually a really nice guy. You'd get along great with him."

"I already determined that when I saw him five minutes before school started," Kurt snapped. He couldn't help it if his snark was heightened today. "He needed directions to his first class and since Rachel was too busy making sure you didn't fail your trig test, he asked the first person he saw."

"Kurt," Finn started, sitting on the corner of Kurt's bed, "you should be careful with Blaine. I don't want you to get caught up in the same problems that happened to him and their fathers."

"Problems?"

"Look, I'm not going to go into it since Rachel told me not to let anyone know about their past, but…"

Kurt was livid. "Excuse me? I'm her best friend. Why am I not allowed to know?" And how had he not known with Finn 'I can't keep a secret more than five minutes' Hudson living in the room next to him?

"It's a private matter," Finn said. "However, since I'm sure you've been wondering all day, yes, Blaine is gay."

Oh. Well that was a welcome tidbit, although Kurt had suspected it all along."That's nice. For me, since I know certain people won't care for that news once it's around the school."

"Which is why he won't be coming out anytime soon."

Kurt sighed. He knew firsthand how terrifying it was to admit his preference and why Santana didn't want to risk her 'queen of the school' status by admitting her love for Brittany. And it wasn't as if the older men of the Berry household hid their commitment rings from anyone. So why would their son?

"So had you met him before?" he asked, changing the subject.

Finn nodded. "Yeah, right after regionals last year since Dalton had already lost in their competition, so he felt there was nothing inappropriate about supporting us. In fact, he loved that we went for the original songs."

Before Kurt could respond, Carole interrupted to tell the boys that dinner was ready. For the rest of the evening, his thoughts remained on Blaine and what could possibly be the reason for coming to McKinley if he wasn't going to reveal his true self to the world.

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><p>Rachel was waiting for him at his locker the next morning. "I'm sorry."<p>

Kurt feigned innocence. "Sorry for what?" he asked.

"For not telling you about Blaine. I thought he was going to remain at Dalton throughout high school but then Se...never mind. I understand why he came here, but it's going to be rough."

"What? What happened, Rachel?"

She shook her head. "If he doesn't want to talk to others about it, that's his decision."

"Funny, Finn said the exact same thing last night," Kurt said, closing his locker after he got his books out. "I understand if something awful happened and you don't want to talk about it, but why on earth did you act like he doesn't exist?"

"It's not that simple, Kurt," Rachel hissed. "You of all people know what it's like to be yourself in a town like this."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "But I'm still going to be me and not hide, though." The warning bell rang as soon as he finished. "I'll see you in glee," he said, walking off towards his French class. As he passed Blaine's class, he peeked inside and saw him staring at his book, ignoring the students around him.

The morning went as well as possible, considering his mood, but of all people, Santana cornered him at lunch to ask about Blaine. "I hear we have another spawn of the shire on our hands?" she asked as she sat down at his table.

"We? Last I remember you were no longer a part of New Directions."

"Au contraire, Monsieur Hummel. As of third period today, Quinn and I are back in the club."

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "And just how is Coach Sylvester taking this news?"

"What she doesn't know won't affect her hideous tracksuits. Besides, I feel like I should offer my services to the new kid, make sure he doesn't take after Rachel."

"Santana," he hissed, "what happened to what we talked about over the summer?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Who said I can't have a little fun while I figure things out?"

Kurt suddenly stood up and grabbed Santana's hand. He dragged her to the girls' restroom furthest away from the cafeteria so they could have some privacy. Once the door closed, he started interrogating her. "I thought you already had things figured out, Santana? What about Brittany? Does she approve of you flirting with every male in existence when you claim she's the one for you?"

"Hummel, you know she barely knows what day it is," Santana answered while fixing her ponytail. "I could be feeling him up and she wouldn't bat an eye."

"Good thing you won't be doing that to Blaine, then," he said. "Besides, and you have to swear on your Cheerios' uniform that this doesn't leave this room" he waited for Santana to nod, "…he's as straight as you and I are."

Santana froze. "Really? But he looks so…dorky."

"And that has as much to do with his sexuality as your bitchiness does to yours," Kurt snapped.

"Okay, okay, I get it," she said. "Do you like him?"

Kurt shook his head. Technically it was true, he didn't know Blaine well enough to like him. "He's also closeted as well, so all the jokes you try on me? The threats of Puck getting us fake IDs so we can get into Scandals? They won't work with him."

"But his fathers are gay…"

"I know, Santana. Finn is the only person who knew about Blaine before yesterday, and apparently whatever happened where the Berrys lived before here is serious enough that he doesn't want it known."

She nodded. "Probably for the best." She stared at her reflection for a second before turning towards Kurt. "Look, Kurt, you are incredibly strong. You lost your mother as a kid, you took so much abuse from Karofsky and Azimio, hell, even from half the glee club. But you still don't hide yourself. Everyone in your life approves of your sexuality. If I come out, I would probably lose my parents, my brother…god, maybe even my Abuela. Not to mention I'd go from cheerleading captain to laughingstock because hey, why else would Santana Lopez be on the squad other than to sleep with all the pretty girls?" She was sobbing by the time she finished talking.

Kurt pulled Santana into a hug, something he never would have thought would happen less than two years earlier. "You're just as strong, Santana. I mean, you put up with Coach Sylvester day after day. I know from experience how difficult that is." She cracked a smile. "You can do this, and I bet nobody will care that you prefer girls."

"You think so?" Kurt nodded. Before she could say something else, the bell rang ending lunch. "It's not going to be today, but…I'll let you know when I'm ready, okay?"

"Okay. Now go be the kickass cheerleader you are. Oh, and try not to pick on Blaine this afternoon. I know he may seem like an easy target since he's Rachel's brother, but we should ease him into your personality."

She grabbed some toilet paper from one of the stalls before they walked out. "Sure you don't like him, Hummel?" she teased.

"Shut up," Kurt grinned. Somehow, he trusted Santana more now. Maybe senior year wouldn't be so bad.


	3. Chapter 3

_Sorry about the wait on this. This story is my first attempt at angst, and it took me days to figure out how to end this chapter because of it. Thank you for all the alerts and favorites. Hopefully I can get some more done this weekend before my life goes insane the next few weeks (work, school starting up for two days/two nights a week, then going to NYC to see Darren's final weekend on Broadway). I make no promises though! :D_

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><p>The next month flew by, and before he knew it, it was time for Kurt to break his sweaters and scarves out of storage. He loved autumn; the leaves crunching underneath his feet, the brisk wind that sent him to the Lima Bean a little more often, and the looming presence of the holidays and new year creeping up on everyone. Sadly, he didn't have much of a chance to enjoy the season this year. He won the role of Tony in West Side Story, opposite Rachel as Maria. The two were overjoyed to be working with each other when Artie, Ms. Pillsbury, and Coach Beiste posted the cast listing. Kurt was also working on two stellar election campaigns; one for his father, hoping to make changes in the area, and one for himself, wanting to do the same at McKinley. However, he hadn't anticipated running against Brittany.<p>

Glee club was even going smoothly. There were a few problems here and there, but for the most part, everyone was staying civil. Kurt and Santana's talk ended up blossoming into an unlikely friendship between the two cattiest students of McKinley and she named herself campaign manager for Kurt's presidency bid. Blaine fit in with the group from the first day, adding suggestions in here and there. Still, nobody was aware of his sexuality, nor of what brought him and Rachel to Lima. Whenever Kurt tried to bring it up, the subject was always changed.

This particular Saturday was no exception. Kurt and Rachel were in the Berrys' living room having a private rehearsal for the musical. Blaine had spent the evening before and into today with some of his Dalton friends, and their fathers left early in the morning for an art festival in Toledo. After running through Tonight for what seemed like the twelfth time, Kurt sat down. "I think it's time for a break, Rach."

"Nonsense," Rachel said. "If you need a break then you aren't ready for the big time."

"We've been going for almost three hours. Why don't we have lunch before we go through the next scene?"

"But Kurt, if you keep go-"

"Rachel!" he interrupted. "Do you really think Barbra and Patti never took a break during rehearsals? Let's get something to eat and get our energy up so we can keep running through this."

She finally obliged and they went into the kitchen to prepare lunch. Rachel started boiling water for some whole grain angel hair while Kurt rummaged around for ingredients to make a homemade pesto. While he chopped the basil, he asked, "Does Blaine have a lot of friends at his old school?"

"Oh, absolutely," Rachel said. "The Warblers are even closer than New Directions. I happen to believe it's because of the lack of estrogen to tempt their already overdriven hormones, but he says it's just the nature of the group."

"Are they good?"

She smiled. "All I will say is if they had competed against us at Regionals, it would have been a hard loss for them to take. Blaine was their lead soloist last year."

Kurt was surprised."Really? But the only solos he's done for us have been his audition and the day he sang Katy Perry."

"Unlike certain other members of my family, I'm not interested in holding the spotlight full-time." They had missed the door opening, so Kurt almost cut too close to his finger when Blaine spoke up.

"Blaine, I thought you weren't going to be home until this evening?" Rachel questioned her brother as he kissed her cheek.

"Jeff was having roommate troubles," he answered, frowning. Kurt raised an eyebrow, but Rachel only acknowledged Blaine with a nod.

Lunch was uneventful. Blaine set the table after double checking that there was enough pasta for three people, and they ate and talked about school, New Directions, and the musical. Blaine was playing Officer Krupke, and while Artie had raved about the audition for a week, they knew there was no way to cast siblings as the romantic leads. Before they finished, Finn called Rachel and she excused herself to her bedroom.

"I mean, can you imagine it? Me kissing my sister? I would probably throw up after each run-through," Blaine said.

Kurt laughed. "She's not so bad, but I get it. If I was to kiss Finn, I'd be brushing my teeth for three days to remove that memory."

"You two are stepbrothers though, not blood."

"Basically the same," Kurt said. "At least I was over him long before our parents wed."

"Over him?" Blaine inquired.

"Romantically."

"Did he know?" Blaine nearly whispered.

Kurt hesitated. He wasn't supposed to know Blaine was gay, but had no idea if Blaine knew about him. "Oh, I had been out for months. But my crush was complicated; partially due to the drama with Quinn and Puck and the baby, and partially due to your sister. I think he had it figured out by the time he and Carole moved in with Dad and me. But as soon as that happened, he kind of, shall I say, freaked out about my eccentricities?"

"I know what that's like."

"Your old school?"

Blaine nodded. "The names started in fifth grade, even before I had figured it out. That's what happens when your dads are gay in a small town. They assume it's going to rub off on you, you know? When I finally did come out at the end of seventh grade, the few friends I had wanted nothing to do with me anymore. Then in eighth grade…" he trailed off without finishing. Shaking his head, he said, "Whatever. When I'm making a name for myself, they'll all wish they had been better to me."

"What do you want to do?" Kurt asked. As much as he wanted to pry into the past, see what happened to bring the Berrys to Lima, he decided to hold off.

"Anything," Blaine shrugged. "Acting, singing, writing, it doesn't matter. I don't mind being behind the scenes or stealing the show. I just want to make art." He stood up and took the dishes to the sink to wash. Kurt followed him, so he continued. "I bet this won't surprise you, but Rachel has already demanded I take a stage name even though people will probably figure out we're related immediately."

Kurt laughed as he took the plate from Blaine's hand to dry. "You're right, not surprising. Do you have anything in mind?"

"I do, actually."

"And?"

"Promise not to laugh at me, Kurt?"

"Why would I laugh?"

Blaine started blushing. "It sounds kind of stupid, but I've decided on Blaine Anderson."

"That doesn't sound stupid at all. I think it sounds beautiful," Kurt said. "Why do you think that?"

"My middle name is Andrew, after Andrew Lloyd Webber. I thought about Andrews, but it didn't sound right. But, um," Blaine looked down at the dishes before mumbling something Kurt couldn't hear.

"What was that?"

"Anderson Cooper. He was the first celebrity crush I had." Blaine was nearly as red as the sweater he was wearing. "So I chose it from him."

"Blaine, it sounds good," Kurt said. "And Anderson is a very appropriate choice to have that crush on." He could understand why Blaine would consider him attractive. He had a polished, old-fashioned sense that was rare to find these days, especially among teen males. Here he was in his kitchen on a Saturday, wearing a red cardigan, white oxford, black and red striped bow tie, and with still too much gel controlling his hair. Kurt admired it, admired that Blaine didn't follow the norm. It was refreshing.

He didn't realize he was staring until Blaine's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Are you okay, Kurt?"

He flinched slightly. "Oh. Um, yeah, sorry. I was just thinking about something."

Blaine turned off the faucet. "Look, Kurt," he began, "I know you're out and proud, and I like that about you. But I can't do that. It's too hard to think about what could happen."

"What's the problem? Look at your fathers. They're happily out. Why can't you do the same?"

"Because I don't want to go through it again," Blaine groaned.

"Blaine," Kurt said, "do you realize what my campaign is built around? I've been bullied. I'm pretty sure I know what you went through back before Dalton, but I'm working to change that. We don't need to be afraid. I want to make it so the bullying ends."

"Damn it, Kurt, I don't care!" he was interrupted. "You can make the student body not do it, but what about the rest of the world? I only came out at Dalton because some of the guys were going to set me up with a girl from our sister school. I couldn't lie to her. And since I was protected by their zero tolerance policy, it didn't make sense for me to hold back. That's not going to happen. Not now, not ever." Blaine threw down the plate he had been rinsing, surprisingly not breaking it, and walked away.

Kurt wasn't about to let it end. "So why don't you go back to Dalton if you can't be who you are anywhere else?"

Blaine froze. When he turned around, there was a look of fear in his eyes that had replaced the anger from moments before. "I just can't be there, Kurt. Trust me." He then walked out of the kitchen. Once Kurt heard a door slam, he let out a scream. He finished washing the rest of the dishes, then lied to Rachel that his dad had called him to help with an emergency at the shop. Heading home, all he could do was wonder what had broken Blaine so much that he had to hide himself.


End file.
